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Chapter 18
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Code Talker, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Memory, Language, and Identity
The Navajo Way and the Life of the Warrior
Culture and Patriotism
War, Healing, and Peace
Summary
Analysis
After Bougainville, the code talkers return to Hawaii. They update their code, coming up with new words for things and situations encountered in the field. By now, the code has almost doubled in size. And the Navajos have more than proven their value. Though some commanders didn’t trust the Navajos at first, now qualified Navajos are in high demand.
The code talkers are frequently pulled off the frontlines in order to make sure the code is up to date with conditions in the field. By this point in the war, their work has proven its worth, even to people who didn’t believe the Navajos could contribute anything of value.
Themes
One example is a time when the Marines captured an enemy position faster than expected, and the U.S. artillery continued hitting that position. Even when a white radioman sends a message, the shells keep coming. They think it’s another fake message from the Japanese. Finally, the artillery sends a message: “Do you have a Navajo?” Ned is hurriedly summoned, and his message stops the shelling. After that incident, nobody questions the need for Navajo code talkers.
This scenario is a good example of the special value that the Navajo code talkers bring to the field. Fake messages sent by the enemy are a constant concern, but everyone trusts that the Navajo voices are reliable. Ned has always known that his language and culture are valuable, but now the rest of the world is learning that, too.
Themes
Marine generals unanimously request more code talkers. Their comments delight Ned. He grew up hearing only negative things from white people about Navajos people’s capabilities. Now, the commanding general of the Sixth Marine Division writes that the Navajos are “excellent Marines, intelligent, [and] industrious.” It’s recommended that every marine division have at least 100 code talkers.
At times, in the absence of gunfire, exploding shells, and mud, the respite on Hawaii feels unreal to Ned. He should be feeling happy and relaxed among his fellow Navajo code talkers, but instead he’s “ill at ease,” worrying about his friends, like Georgia Boy and Smitty, who are still fighting. He no longer thinks of those men as white strangers, but rather as friends and fellow marines.
Ned’s feelings reflect the discomfort many soldiers feel when suddenly removed from the chaos of battle and given an opportunity to rest off the line. Ned carries this unease with him after the war and is forced to find ways to restore the inner balance that has always been so important to him.
Themes
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Ned learns that one of the hardest things about war is that even when the fighting has stopped for a while, a soldier knows it will start again soon. And the quiet also allows for reflection on terrible things that have happened. These memories and fears drive many marines, including some Navajos, to drink—even after the war. This confirms Ned’s belief that war is never good. It may sometimes be necessary, but it is truly “a time out of balance.”
War takes a terrible toll on soldiers, Ned explains, by robbing them of true peace even when it is offered to them—memories and fears are too strong to resist. This is evidence for the book’s overall argument that just because war might be a necessary measure at times does not mean it is a good thing in itself.
Themes
Though Ned, too, is tempted to forget bad memories by drinking, he is sustained instead by thoughts of his home and family. He knows his family is praying for him. He also feels close to them when he prays each dawn, using corn pollen. He believes that “keeping to our Navajo Way” helps him survive both the war itself and the times of uneasy quiet.
Ned is not immune to the sufferings of battle fatigue and is sympathetic to those who drink to escape them. However, his spiritual beliefs and practices provide an alternative coping strategy for him.
Themes
